What is Amish Life like for a Woman

    We are taught to see the world the way other groups want us to see it. However I am here to encourage us as black women to measure the world using our communities' ruler! One of our biggest responsibilities as black women is not only be an example for our children, our community, but to the world of women. After all we are the standard despite Western society feeding us that we are inferior, undervalued, and subjugated.The truth is the white women is the most oppressed woman there is and an example of that is within the Amish community. To understand why we are going to take a deep dive into their daily routines, religion and health, and their womanhood.

  Daily Life 

    Well known things about the Amish community is that they work hard, are courteous to outsiders, and they stay to themselves. According to Amishvillage.com, "Amish, including the children, often wake up as early at 4:00 am to get started on their chores before dawn." They also work until the sun goes down. So summer often means longer working days. Children are very disciplined and efficient due to their chores and often times having to look after one another. Depending on the Amish community most households may not have any electricity, any synthetic materials such as polyesters, petroleum, etc., or any outside influences. So everything is typically made from scratch by hand from the kitchen table, couch, buggy to clothing, containers, and the house itself. All of their foods are made of course without fillers and artificial preservatives, fresh from their gardens. It's uncommon for Amish to be vegan or vegetarian. They have very simple but nutritious means with really no restrictions. Due to the all their manual labor and balanced diet they tend to have lower risk of diabetes and cancers from chemicals. 

        "Humility is the hallmark of Amish beliefs. Mild and modest personalities are esteemed."(Discoverlancaster.com) They keep a very reserved demeanor that is quickly enforced on their children.Amish women are often praised for their modesty and humbleness when it comes to their appearance and attitude. Everything from work, entertainment, and worship must be do within the community. To the outside world it may appear they live very simple that is drama free. However, the load can be heavy but the religion shuns laziness and complaining; and demands that no changes be made but to endure no matter what. 

The Church: Religion is the Law, Health Care, and the Mediator 

     To get a better understanding of the Amish community we should start off with it's foundation. It is a christian denomination that believes "humility, family, community and separation from the modern world."(Discoverlancaster.com) They are very strict when it comes to vanity; everything is supposed to be done for the glory of God.  There are about 40 subgroups  Amish so there is a spectrum from Old very traditional Amish to more liberal. Because they are separated from the rest of the world the church and the Bible is the answer to everything.  Of course Amish are not exempt from law enforcement but they often ban together and don't report or cooperate with "modern law". Instead the church sets the punishment of the criminals. Things like theft, burglary, and physical public altercations aren't typically an issue due to moral views on these crimes.  The typical punishment for disobeying the churches is being kick out of the community if you can't confess and repent. 

    Religion also extends to medical treatment. Amish generally don't believe in going to a modern dentist. Their "dentist" is only for teeth pulling. Some choose to have all their teeth at once even if they are health and trade them for dentures to save money in the long run. Most Amish don't put value teeth. According to owlaction.com, Amish surprisingly have very healthy teeth and oral health despite most of them not brushing and flossing. However in the event that they have an infection, cancer, disorder, or other disease, many don't believe in medication. Instead they believe in "God's Will"- if it happens then it's meant to be. Yet they do have "clinics" that are staffed only by the Amish. We will talk about them later! Unlike most Christian denominations you are not baptized at birth therefore you aren't born into the church. You get to choose when you are of age to join. 

What is Rumspringa vs Youth Group?

How Amish youth transitions into Adulthood is going to depend on the community. In order to be accepted by the church and officially accepted by the community, you have to be married by the church and baptized. This usually happens between the age of 18-22. According to amish-heritage.org, rumspringa (means running around in Pennsylvania Dutch), is when youth can soil their oats into worldly society. Not all communities permitted Rumspringa. Youth group is an "organization of young people who come together for social purposes, often under the sponsorship of a church or similar institution" Wheather youth goes through Rumspringa or youth group, they are often still living at home and don't befriend outsiders. This in between stage starts at usually 16 and can last as long as the individual is not married and baptized for some especially men; it can last until their 30s. 

 The Dark Side of Amish Life 

    One may be moved to believe that with all these things mentioned that the Amish is the ideal model of how all societies should be! If the Amish culture is so great why are there so many women fleeing? There are a lot of things that have been swept under the rug for too long and it's just bursting at the seems.  Believe it or not according to grung.com, drugs and alcohol, domestic abuse, and incest and sexual assault are huge issues within Amish communities. And this is not something that has been just associated with certain subgroups but a major issue that has been brought to light in the last decade all around this community.

Drugs and Alcohol

According to sun.co.uk, everything from underage over drinking during rumspringa,  deadly DUI accidents on buggies, to Amish drug dealers have been exposed. 

Amish people go to school between the ages of 6-14 and college is generally forbidden. Youth  coming to age typically begins at around 16 so they are relatively free to do whatever they like especially young men. Over drinking  and hard drugs like cocaine can be an issue that starts at this time. Some kick their party habits but some men bring those habits into their family household. Especially to cope with the work load and responsibility of raising a huge family that is mandatory in Amish religion.  

Cocaine and other "sleeping" aide drugs are given to patients at the clinics. According to grung.com, women and adolescent girls can especially fall victims to these clinics if they are finding it hard to be obedient. 

Domestic Abuse and Neglect

The Amish believe that obedience starts at the age 3. Many especially the ones that believe in the Old Age  don't permit children to speak unless spoken to and is even more crucial in front of outsiders. Children are often hit with objects because it is thought that the hands are for love. Although children are thought to be blessings discipline is crucial and can lead into a beating. 

 

Science is forbidden in school and the home let alone sexual education. Education in general is limited because it is thought to be "worldly". This creates a lack of understanding for body functions, mental and behavioral health. 

Women are not only dressed simply and covered up for outsiders and temptation for those outside the household.  Women aren't allowed to wear buttons or zippers; instead they wear clothes that may take them quite some time to take off and use pins to fasten their clothes very securely. Why? This is an insert from thedailybeast.com word for word out of a pamphlet that is given to young girls:

      “This sex urge, once it is awakened and active in a young boy at the age of puberty and beyond, can become a powerful driving force within. Every decent girl will do her best to help him, and not make it harder for him. Even in your own home, if you have brothers in your teens, you should be mindful of this,” she reads. “Your brother innocently coming upon you and seeing your partly uncovered body may suddenly have strong sexual desires aroused within him. His intentions were not bad, but he suddenly finds himself a victim of your carelessness in the lust of his own body.”

The pamphlet also encourages young girls not to appear in scanty nightclothes or climb up ladders around their male family members, to keep their dress closed, and to close their door at night so that their brothers do not feel inclined to molest their sisters if they spot them half-naked in bed.

    These aren't just isolated issues either. It's been know as an open "secret" oftentimes girls are attacked by their own fathers and brothers  continuously. There are several report of girls locking their doors, doing everything they are "supposed to"  do  not to "tempted" their male family members and their whole doors are unscrewed, and they are still attacked! What happens if the church finds out? A slap on the wrist. Repenting and forgiveness is a huge part of Amish customs. The perpetrator may be shunned from  church members and the community for a couple of months. But all is forgiven and not only is the victim, even if a child, supposed to act like nothing happened they are supposed to take responsibility for their role in the event. Victims are bullied into not reporting it to law enforcement even if word gets out and welfare is called. " It is Unchristian like to create gossip and bring harm to a man's reputation" is a common thing that is said. 

    Birth control is forbidden in Amish communities because children are seen as gifts from God. It is also mandatory for women to have children and many of them! She is expecting to start having children within the first year of marriage. Depending on the community women can be expected to have 6-10 children minimum. It does not matter if you and your husband don't want children. That is seen as a sin! 

    With this expectation the Amish community is growing at a quick rate however, it leaves children that are not attended to by adult supervision. With primitive technology such as lanterns, buggies, and other out dated machinery, children are prone to brutal and even fatal accidents. 

     The gene pool is a problem as well. Amish rarely bring in outsiders to marry. Some marriages are selected from other Amish communities which means that the person that they're married to isn't related to them. But in most cases that's not the case. And on top of molestation, Amish has an epidemic when it comes to the amount of genetic disorders they have. Some are so rare and unique to their population that they don't even have names for them! (grunge.com)  

Why is it so Hard for Women to Leave the Amish Community

    There is a lot of brainwashing going on by Amish men. The church protects men from very heinous violence against women and children. The church is so powerful that they have been known to sway law enforcement to not send Amish men to jail for sexually and/ or physically assaulting their young sisters, wives, and/or children.  If a woman reports her husband, father, or brothers to authorities she will be kicked out of the Amish community. 

    Amish women unlike Amish men have a hard time adapting to the outside world. Men are able to get any manual labor job. However women are limited to domestic work and she has to worry about all of the children that she has had. Trying to leave could be worse than staying due to language and education barriers as well as Amish are very close knit to the extended families and community. She could lose her children and her family would more than likely cut her completely off. 

Why I Shared this Information?

    I wanted to shed light on what true oppression looks like. There are some women that praise these other groups of men but don't understand the dynamics of their communities. We have a lot of work to do in the black community. However we are blessed enough to have the space and the opportunity to do so. We can't save the world but we can set the example of what womanhood and sisterhood looks like. And create safe spaces for all women to be heard and protected.